Games People Play
by dcj
Summary: "It's the Game of Life... And I think Uncle Sammy here just got the training wheels off."


New seasons always kick my butt as I try and wrap my head around new canon. I thought I'd start with a one-shot to try and get my muse back in line and get myself back into the swing of things. It's just a little bit of McSwarek hope and I hope you like it. Set sometime in season 4 - in my world sooner rather than later.

As always, I own nothing Rookie Blue.

* * *

Sam zips his coat up a little tighter as he tries to protect himself against the biting wind that has been blowing through Toronto all day. He's perched on the top of the door step, waiting for his knock to be answered, hoping it won't take too long. The street is quiet but there seems to be a lot of commotion coming from behind the closed door. He hears a voice yell out as it gets closer and it's only a couple seconds before he hears the tell-tale click of the dead bolt.

The shocked face that greets him probably shouldn't be a surprise; it's been a long while since he's graced this doorstep, especially without an expressed invitation. He wonders briefly if maybe he should have called first. But it's never been a problem before… was even a regular occurrence for a while so…

He furrows his brow when Oliver first looks behind and then back at Sam and then behind himself again; he has yet to say a thing.

_Maybe… no… _

Sam knows Zoe has never been overly happy with the standing invite he's been extended but she also knows that her husband and Sam are close, best friends even (well, best _male_ friends). He's pretty sure that the girls put in a good word for him too, so Zoe's always done her best to tolerate him – some days more successfully than others.

But Sam hasn't really talked to Oliver about what 'trying again' might entail; so maybe this is one of those concessions he's had to make.

Sam peeks past Oliver into the house before his eyes fall back on his friend. "We just gonna stand here or…?" He can hear the excited voices already coming from around the table, kind of wants to immerse himself into all things Shaw so he can forget about his own sorry state of affairs.

Oliver's eyes follow Sam's back into his home and it takes a second for the question to register. "Huh? Yeah, yeah, sure, of course, Sammy. Come on in." He steps aside to usher his friend in, but his welcoming words are belied by the fidget he's still got going on, like he isn't one hundred percent certain it's a good thing Sam is there.

"Should I have called?" Sam wonders as he toes his shoes off at the mat.

"What? Huh? No, no," Oliver insists, shaking his head to get himself out of the stupor he's in. "You're always welcome you know that. I just…" Oliver presses his lips together, huffs a breath out through his nose, "you should probably know…"

A female voice calls out from the kitchen interrupting Oliver before can issue his now apparent warning. "It's your turn, Oliver."

Sam's eyebrows jump to the top of his head; hearing the familiarity of that particular voice is not what he expected when he crossed the threshold this evening.

Oliver grins sheepishly at Sam before he waves his hand towards the kitchen. "We've got company," he offers to anyone who might be listening.

Sam's stalled half way across the living room carpet; he's starting to feel the apprehension himself now. "Maybe I should just…"

"Who is it?" Zoe inquires as she rounds the corner from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. "Oh…" Her eyes shift from side to side. "Sam…"

As soon as the girls hear his name, chairs are scraping against the floor and bodies are thundering in his direction. He's sporting a wide grin and engulfed in the middle of a shawg (a Shaw group hug the youngest informed him once a while back) when he spots Andy lingering just at the edge of the room. Her look is a combination of nervousness and shock but he's certain there's a hint of amusement in there too. He redirects the dimples to somewhere in her vicinity and is pleasantly surprised when she returns the smile, even if it is somewhat tentative.

"Got room for one more?" Sam asks, eyes bouncing between Oliver, Zoe and Andy.

Her eyes narrow a little, rattling around inside her head before settling back on the newest arrival. _Is he really asking __**her**__ if it's okay? It isn't even her house._

Oliver and Zoe watch as the other couple stare unblinkingly at each other for a few seconds before they exchange a look of understanding. "Of course, Sammy; you know you're always welcome," Oliver confirms.

Sam flashes a quick smile over at his hosts before his eyes fall back on Andy. He waits for her confirmation as well, needs to know that he is indeed welcome… wanted.

Andy swallows hard before she clears her throat; she really wishes her glass of lemonade was a little closer. "We were just playing a game if you want to…" She tilts her head back towards the table as she lets the words fall off.

Sam feels his whole body relax into the breath that had been stuck somewhere between his lungs and his heart. He opens his mouth to agree, when Oliver's middle girl Maddie starts to giggle. "Uncle Sammy doesn't play games, Silly."

"Oh no?" Surprise colors Andy's tone a little. "Is Uncle Sammy 'too cool' to play games?" She muses, directs an accusatory eyebrow right straight at him, almost daring him to deny it.

Sam shrugs it off easily. "I'll have you know I'm a reigning house champion…" He throws a double dose of brow right back at her as he follows it up with, "at Battleship."

The snort's already out of her mouth before she can even think about holding it back. Her wide eyes flash up to Sam's before she drops her head down to the table and lets her hair curtain her face. Sam can still see the blush coloring her ears and the back of her neck though so tamping down his grin is not easy and he fights to hold back the chuckle that's tickling at the back of his throat.

_Just after Jerry had proposed to Traci, they asked Andy to look after Leo for the night while they celebrated with some… adult time. At least that's what Jerry called it; actually blushed a little when Traci called it as __**she**__ saw it._

_Sam ate with Andy and Leo but was sent home right after supper. When he showed up the next morning he was still grumbling about being kicked out for her sleepover with 'another man'. Andy and Leo just giggled before dragging him into the kitchen to join them for breakfast. It was actually a pretty impressive spread that included more than one of his favorites. _

_But despite her obvious efforts, Sam still told Andy in no uncertain terms that it was going to take more than a fancy breakfast to make up for him having to spend one of their only free nights this week alone. She may have had to remind him on more than one occasion during the meal to keep his hands to himself until Leo headed home._

_He was about to ask her when that might be when there was a knock on the door. Her laughter echoed out from the kitchen when he jumped up and bounded over to the door to see if it was who he hoped. _

_He shook his head at Jerry's wide eyes and disapproving stare. It was his gir… Andy's house and she was his… the man didn't have a leg to stand on. He and Nash had practically been living together since before the engagement… and well Andy wouldn't even consider letting him stay over so… He blew out a breath at Nash's knowing chuckle and ushered them into the condo._

_They didn't stay long, just time enough to say thanks and whisk Leo out the door with promises of a fun-filled family celebration this time._

_Andy had just started carting the dirty dishes to the sink when Sam flopped down onto the couch and plucked a box up off the coffee table. He held it up above his head and inquired, "What's this?"_

_She placed the plates and cutlery onto the counter and then turned her head to get a good look. "Huh? Oh. Battleship's Leo's favorite game." She giggled to herself as she started placing items into the dishwasher. "I think we must have played it about twenty times before I finally talked him into a movie."_

"_You any good?" Sam challenged._

_Andy's head snapped up; there was something in his tone… and in his eye. She quirked an interested brow. "I can hold my own," she offered smugly. _

_Sam sat chuckling on the couch while Andy took a good hour to work out the new rules – when clothes came off, when they were to go back on. __**He**__ may have used up the better part of that hour debating the merits of __**anything**__ going back on, but that was beside the point. _

_In the end, she thrust a neatly written list in front of his face before escaping to her bedroom to "get dressed." Sam tried to argue; he saw nothing wrong with the fact that he was fully clothed right down to the socks, while all she had on was a sweatshirt and sleep shorts… and likely nothing else. But she was already out of reach before he could make his case, insisting that it was only fair._

_As he lay in bed that night with Andy wrapped tightly in his arms, he tried to recall who might have won the game, but he really couldn't say; he's actually not even sure that they finished it. _

_He'd never admit that to her though; in fact, he may have even brought it up again after supper, insisting that it was him… just to get her worked up again._

_ He wasn't disappointed._

_And if he ditched on Jerry early the next morning to hit the store before shift, no one needed to know… well… except that he may have pulled it out that very night at his house and insisted on defending his title. _

_Andy was definitely surprised. _

_It didn't take long to get her game face on though, eyebrow pointed to the ceiling asking him if he was sure he was _**up**_ to the challenge… he was._

Oliver's gaze is now bouncing between their two guests; based on Sam's smirk and McNally's resolve to keep her head down and conceal the newfound hue, he's pretty sure there's a whole lot more to the story than just a friendly child's game. And he's more than a little certain that it's not something he wants his teenage daughter to pick up on.

"Yay!" The youngest Shaw, Taylor, calls out. "I want Uncle Sammy to be my partner!"

"Yeah, yeah, Sammy's great," Oliver grumbles good-naturedly, trying not to take it personally that he was being so easily replaced with his friend.

"No, Me!" Maddie disputes, "You don't know how to play by yourself and neither does he; you can't be partners."

"Don't worry; I'm sure Sammy is happy to play with anyone and everyone," Oliver intercedes. "You know he likes to spread the love," he goes on to remind them. This is not a new argument in the Shaw household when their favorite 'uncle' is over.

The girls are all grinning then and trying to decide who should get to team up with Sam first. Oliver just shakes his head, bites back a comment about keeping Swarek's ego in check. Knows it's a moot point anyway when he sees Sam smirk over at him knowingly.

Both men turn to Andy a little surprised that she hasn't thrown her two cents in yet. No doubt she's getting a pretty big kick out of it all too…

Except that she isn't.

In fact her face is still hidden from view, as she works hard to gather up all the pieces that lay scattered in front of her.

She's actually just barely holding it together, doing everything she can to push back any errant thoughts about who Sam is and is not currently spreading his 'love' to.

Oliver frowns, mirroring Sam's look of concern as they replay the last few minutes of conversation. Both sets of eyes widen at the same time and Oliver curses his big mouth just as Sam clears his throat.

"I uh, haven't played in quite a while though," Sam announces loudly. "Been almost a year," he adds pointedly, his head tilted to the side to try and get a glimpse of Andy's face.

She's blinking pretty fast when she looks up at him, but he can still see the question in her eyes.

"Why?" Taylor voices for her. And Andy looks like she wants to kiss the little girl.

"Yeah," Maddie seconds, "if you like to play, why don't you do it more?" Her brow furrows for a second as she mulls that over. "You did like it; didn't you?"

The chuckle that escapes Andy's mouth is a welcome sound. Her eyes are still a little glassy but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Sam clears his throat again, asks Oliver if he could get him a drink to buy himself a little time, but he's got four pairs of eyes waiting not so patiently for his response. "Yeah, I liked it," he assures them before he focuses in on Andy. "A lot."

Oliver skips up beside him and places a beer into his hand, covers his warning with a cough. "Careful."

Sam's not sure if he's talking about with the girls or with Andy, but either way he knows he needs to proceed with caution.

"The person I used to play with uh… we haven't really seen each other… and I didn't…" he stops, takes a swallow from the beer Oliver handed him as he runs his hand along the back of his neck; this is not going well. "I don't know; I just… I don't think it would be the same with…"

"It's not," Taylor answers knowingly, drawing all eyes over to her in question. She pulls her head back and blinks a few times, confused with all the attention. "What? It's not. I tried playing dolls with Izzy but she sucks."

Another giggle escapes Andy's lips while Oliver fights to hold in his own amusement, knows it's probably not a good idea to encourage this train of thought.

"Tay," he warns.

Behind his back, Izzy is sticking her tongue out at her little sister, but she pulls it in quickly when her Dad turns to her, flashing her a warning of her own.

"You don't do the voices," the little girl clarifies, "not like Daddy does anyway."

"Have you even tried playing with someone else?" Maddie wonders innocently. "Or maybe a different game?"

Sam really has no idea how he thought it might go down, but this is definitely not how he expected her to find out. But something drew him here today and he wonders if maybe the universe does have a plan for them after all. If maybe things might start to fall into place now that...

"I did," Sam nods, "a different… It wasn't..." He brings the beer up to his lips again, tries to ignore the wide eyes that Oliver and Andy are shooting back at him. "Well, let's just say it didn't work out, so now I'm hoping maybe…"

"Maybe your other friend will play with you again," Maddie fills in excitedly.

"If I'm lucky," Sam agrees. "I just hope it's not too late," he adds softly, stealing a quick peek at his favorite brunette who is now sporting not only the wide eyes but an open mouth.

"Are we still talking about a game?" Izzy wonders, her own gaze bouncing between Andy and Sam as the pieces start to fall into place.

"Of course," Oliver insists, winking at his oldest daughter. "It's the Game of Life... And I think Uncle Sammy here just got the training wheels off."

Izzy shakes her head but a smile and giggle escape when Sam starts to grumble under his breath – "smart ass."

"I got my training wheels off last year," Taylor brags causing the whole table to break out in raucous laughter.

"Well, Uncle Sammy's a little slower than most," Oliver informs the girls, pats a condescending hand on his best friend's back.

"Don't worry, Uncle Sammy," Maddie tells him, reaching across the table to pat her own small hand on his. "We'll help you."

"Yes, we will," Oliver agrees, wraps his arm around Zoe's waist and gives it a quick squeeze as she walks by, "yes, we will."

Zoe grins at her husband before pointing a commanding finger around the table. "You've got fifteen minutes before supper; that's it."

Oliver releases his wife, starts clapping and pointing at chairs. "You heard the woman; let's get serious. Times a wasting."

When everyone's sat back down, Oliver turns to Andy. "So whaddya say McNally? You think Sammy's ready to give it a go?" He waits until she looks right at him, wants to remind her just how good he thinks they can be, but instead he just gives her a pointed look. "You're the one holding the cards. Gonna give my boy here a chance?"

The girls all start chanting "yes, yes, yes…" and Andy can't help but grin.

She shakes her head, huffs out a quiet chuckle. "How about we try a practice round," she suggests looking around the table as she shuffles the deck. Her eyes eventually settle on Sam. "And if that goes well," she gives her shoulders a soft shrug, "maybe…"

Sam smiles small, but doesn't make a move just... waits. "Whenever you're ready."

* * *

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